Winter’s made me super lazy about cooking lately and I’ve been stuck in a rut of making my favorite staples over and over again. But having recently joined a new food coop in the neighborhood, I have all this yummy produce and was inspired by the fresh herbs I saw yesterday and decided to get off my lazy butt and make a stew! This is a variation on my good old black bean recipe, but made a little heartier with sweet potatoes and greens, and with an herby kick. Perfect for a cold wintery night!

Black Bean, Sweet Potato, and Collards Stew (serves about 8)

usual black beans recipe, minus the dry oregano and adding to the pot 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed, and 1 more cup of water

Plus

1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano

2 tsp chopped fresh rubbed sage

3-4 leaves collard greens, chopped

When the beans are soft, add the red wine vinegar, sage, oregano, and collards, and let simmer another 4 minutes until the collards are wilted. Garnish with some fresh oregano and serve with brown rice.

I made this for my mom on Christmas eve because she had a cold and she had all these veggies in the fridge that needed to be eaten. It’s nice and hearty and the colors are really christmasy too! The chutney is what really made it though, in my opinion.

1 16oz package of dry green lentils

1 cup yellow and orange bell pepper diced

1/2 white onion diced

3 cloves of garlic chopped

1 16 oz package of baby carrots chopped

5-6 cauliflower florets

1 cup of green beans (not canned)

1 1/2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp chili powder

1 vegetable bouillon cube

2 tbsp olive oil

4 cups of water (you can add more or less, depending on if you want a thicker or more soupy stew. i like it thick)

Sweat the onion and peppers in a non-stick pan with olive oil and a pinch of sea salt until translucent. Add garlic and let cook a couple more minutes, making sure not to let the garlic burn. Add onion, peppers, garlic and spices and bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low-med heat for about 20-30 minutes until lentils are soft. Makes about 6-8 servings.

I ended up having to freeze a lot of the chutney because we couldn’t eat it all but it’s good to have on hand to use as a garnish or even to eat on crackers! And it’s awesome on pizza too.